Finance Minister of Afghanistan holds talks with President Rajapaksa

Jaffna now a route for radicals attempting to join IS in Afghanistan

Jaffna has now become a route for radicals in India attempting to join the Islamic State (IS) in Afghanistan, reports said. The conventional route was fleeing to Afghanistan via Bangladesh or Dubai but with both the routes being keenly monitored by security agencies, the new route of halting at Jaffna is now being explored. A Mumbai police team will soon visit Kerala in connection with the case against two aides of controversial televangelist Dr Zakir Naik. The two have been booked for alleged

12 Aug, 2016

US hails passage of OMP as huge stride forward

The United States says the passage of the Bill on the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) is a huge stride forward for Sri Lanka. US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Biswal said that the establishment of the OMP will help Sri Lanka advance truth and reconciliation. Meanwhile the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Atul Keshap said the new Office of Missing Persons law is an historic milestone in the path toward meaningful national reconciliation for all in Sri Lanka. (Colombo G

12 Aug, 2016

Almost a quarter of Sri Lanka?s population malnourished

Food shortages brought on by extreme weather events have resulted in almost a quarter of Sri Lanka?s 21 million people becoming malnourished, says a World Food Programme (WFP) document, the Thomson Reuters Foundation reported. ?The increased frequency of natural disasters such as drought and flash floods further compounds food and nutrition insecurity,? says the document, the latest WFP country brief for Sri Lanka, released in June. As per WFP?s most recent Cost of Diet Analysis, almost 6.8 mi

12 Aug, 2016